The, "All Things English" thread

[Montegriffo]

The hounds were all in fur coats.

[Hastur]

Are you sure it was beagles b.t.w? Some kind of foxhounds would have been more appropriate.

[Montegriffo]

Are you sure it was beagles b.t.w? Some kind of foxhounds would have been more appropriate.

Ah, you're right. They were Basset hounds. I got the names mixed up.

They are not allowed to hunt with dogs anymore so they set scent trails with aniseed and follow them.
If they happen to find a fox scent and follow that instead
no one seems to get arrested.
Pretty shitty way to cull foxes if you ask me.

[Hastur]

Are you sure it was beagles b.t.w? Some kind of foxhounds would have been more appropriate.

Ah, you're right. They were Basset hounds. I got the names mixed up.

They are not allowed to hunt with dogs anymore so they set scent trails with aniseed and follow them.
If they happen to find a fox scent and follow that instead
no one seems to get arrested.
Pretty shitty way to cull foxes if you ask me.

Agreed. Foxes can be pests if there are too many of them but they are so adorable I couldn't see myself hurting one. I guess I would see it differently if I had chicken or rabbits.

My daughter's friend had one of her pet rabbits eaten by a fox. She kept them outside in a cage in the summer and the fox burrowed in.

[BjornP]

I guess this belongs here.

A toff on a horse with a lovely green velvet jacket just came into my field with a pack of about 30 beagles.
They are not on the scent of anything and it looks like a training exercise. The toff keeps muttering swear words under his breath and blowing his horn to call the hounds to him.
They seem to have moved on, only here for about 5 mins.

The crows are not fucking happy about it.

Now, when you say the toff came into "your field", are you saying he was riding on your land, without your permission?

[Speaker to Animals]

English have weird slang. Apparently the gays are even weirder.

[Montegriffo]

I guess this belongs here.

A toff on a horse with a lovely green velvet jacket just came into my field with a pack of about 30 beagles.
They are not on the scent of anything and it looks like a training exercise. The toff keeps muttering swear words under his breath and blowing his horn to call the hounds to him.
They seem to have moved on, only here for about 5 mins.

The crows are not fucking happy about it.

Now, when you say the toff came into "your field", are you saying he was riding on your land, without your permission?

Well it's not my land, it just happens to be where I live.
The farmer who owns it has always given his permission to the hunt to cross his land.
He lost his chickens to a fox about 6 months ago so I'm sure he would have been pleased if they had found a fox trail.
The hounds only really catch the older or slower foxes though, to cull them properly you need to shoot the younger breeding animals.
I think it's just a bit of fun for the toffs so they can charge around on their huge chasers pretending they still own the place.
About the only decent thing Blair did was ban it.

[BjornP]

Are all "toffs" members of the nobility, or does it just means generally snobby, pretentious twit? In either case, mandate that fox hunting toffers all must get professional pest control training. They'll get standard pay for vermin disposal, but to conform to higher their station, it shall be called a Lord Hunter's Due. They'll be the finest, dandiest and most noble rat catchers, fox bashers and roach snatchers in the land.

[Montegriffo]

Are all "toffs" members of the nobility, or does it just means generally snobby, pretentious twit? In either case, mandate that fox hunting toffers all must get professional pest control training. They'll get standard pay for vermin disposal, but to conform to higher their station, it shall be called a Lord Hunter's Due. They'll be the finest, dandiest and most noble rat catchers, fox bashers and roach snatchers in the land.

Toffs are often but not exclusively aristocratic.
I would rather we reclassified fox hunters as pests and hunted them down using packs of chavs with pit bull terriers.
Apparently, blah blah blah tradition counters any argument to eradicate them.
Our noble Romany with their tradition of cock fights and dog fighting don't seem to get the same concessions from the toffs in Parliament for some unaccountable reason.

[Hastur]

The most exclusive hunt in England and a closely kept secret is The Annual Harrod Rat Shoot. Some very posh people with rat dogs, Jack Russels, Dachshunds, Westies, Yorkies etc. are invited down to the basement of the department store to hunt for rats.